1. Technical Field
The disclosed and claimed concept relates generally to circuit interrupters and, more particularly, to a circuit interrupter having an arc chute that includes a shield apparatus.
2. Related Art
Numerous types of circuit interrupters such as circuit breakers are generally known in the relevant art. Such circuit interrupters are intended to interrupt current in a circuit during certain overcurrent and under-voltage conditions and other conditions.
When the separable contacts of a circuit interrupter are opened, an electrical arc often propagates between the separating contacts. Since such arcs are destructive to the circuit interrupter, they preferably are extinguished as quickly as possible. It thus has been known to provide arc chutes and other arc extinguishing and elimination systems in circuit interrupters for the purpose of limiting the damage that is caused by such arcs. While known arc chutes have been generally effective for their intended purposes, they have not been without limitation.
Known arc chutes typically include a plurality of electrically conductive arc plates and an arc horn that are mounted to a support structure. The support structure may be formed of a nonconductive material such as a molded resin. Since molded resins are very susceptible to damage in the presence of an electrical arc, it has been known to provide arc quenching materials in the vicinity of the arc chute that generate gases in the presence of an arc in order to facilitate the extinguishment of the arc. However, such arc quenching materials are relatively costly and have proven difficult to place in the vicinity of the support structure in a cost efficient fashion that still extinguishes an arc and protects the support structure.